I have found myself to be in a creative slump recently when it
comes to updating my own websites or in adding words to my eternally in
progress book. Getting things written and out the door for my assignments comes easy enough, but as most of my writing assignments are non-fiction, these were
more like writing attention grabbing, high level reports on various topics that
only barely grazed the surface of my creative mind.
After meditating on it a few times, I found that I was
neglecting my reading. I was reading magazines and other subscription
publications, but had neglected, for far too long apparently, my book reading.
It did not matter if it was fiction or non-fiction; the simple fact of it was
that I was not making any progress when it came to my reading pile, depriving my spirit of
the words that nourish it to produce the words that I put back out to the world.
I consider writing as a way of giving back to the literary
world. The creativeness, the flow, and the meaning behind words are a give and
take thing to me. I take something from the words of others, enjoy the stimulation
of thought and imagination that results, and then use that stimulation to
produce works that will hopefully do the same for others. The circle of life…or
in this case, the circle of literacy.
Since discovering this deficiency in my creative life, I
have taken action to correct this. I finished (in 3 evening bedtime reads) a
book a friend wrote called “Tales Of The Vortex” (http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Vortex-George-W-Tiller/dp/1480117676/ref=cm_cr-mr-title),
finding it to be very thought provoking as well as a cement of sorts to my own
experiences in this vortex.
A second book that I started just this past weekend is a
book I obtained for free via the author’s Twitter promotion called “The Highlander”
by Zoe Saadia (http://www.amazon.com/Highlander-Rise-Aztecs-Series-ebook/dp/B009CCBCU4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1353385695&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Highlander+%28The+Rise+of+The+Aztecs+Series%2C+book+1%29).
This book hit me where the heart is; historic fiction in Mesoamerica. This is
the first of three books in the series, and I have already added the next two
to my Amazon wish list. She is a wonderful writer, and I would recommend this
book to anyone looking for a good story that will draw you in. I will let you
know about the other books in the series once I get there. You can learn more
about her by visiting her website: http://blog.zoesaadia.com/historical-fiction-and-the-highlands/.
That leads me to my final thought of the evening. Both of
the above authors are independent writers that are treading the publishing
waters without the help of the large scale traditional publishing
powerhouses. When you are looking for a
good read, check out the indie writers of the world. The stories are just as
intriguing and exciting, and the quality and characteristics of the books will
leave you yearning for more.
